Employment tribunal pricing for employers

Pricing

Our approach to fees for defending a claim brought against your business for unfair or wrongful dismissal are set out below. The figures are indicative only and we will provide you with a fee estimate applicable to the circumstances of your case (which could be less or more than specified, dependent on your case, our level of involvement and your objectives).

There are various items we will consider when deciding what pricing band your case falls into. We will make this assessment and inform you of the relevant fees at the earliest opportunity.

Factors that may influence this include the need for:

Responding to a claim made against you.
Reviewing documentation received setting out the factual and legal basis of the claim.
Responding to Orders made by the Tribunal.
Making any applications to a Tribunal on your behalf.
Whether an Employment Tribunal hearing is required.
Representing you at a final hearing.

Fees

(See below for factors affecting complexity)

Simple Case	Medium Complexity Case	High Complexity Case
Fee Range *	£10,000 – £15,000	£15,000 – £30,000	£30,000 – £60,000
Charge for attending a final hearing	1 – 2 days (based on £1,500 per day) £1,500 – £3,000	2 – 4 days (based on £2,000 per day) £4,000 – £8,000	3 – 5 days (based on £2,000 per day) £6,000 – £10,000
VAT	£1,700 – £3,600	£3,800 – £7,600	£7,200 – £14,500
Total	£13,200 – £21,600	£22,800 – £45,600	£43,200 – £84,500

* Based on hourly rates (excluding VAT):

Partner £400, Associate £300, Assistant Solicitor £285, Trainee Solicitor £220, Paralegal £190.

*VAT is charged at the current rate of 20%.

Disbursements

In addition to our fees, we would usually engage a barrister to represent you at a final hearing due to their expertise in advocacy. As barristers are independent of our business these estimates are guides only.

Simple Case	Medium Complexity Case	High Complexity Case
Brief fee (preparation fee) and first day of hearing	£2,000 – £3,500	£3,500 – £5,500	£5,500 – £16,000
Each subsequent day of the hearing	£850 – £1,500 (1 day)	£1,500 – £3,000 (2 – 3 days)	£2,500 – £3,500 (2 – 4 days)
VAT	£570 – £1,000	£1,000 – £1,700	£1,600 – £3,900
Total	£3,420 – £6,000	£6,000 – £10,200	£9,600 – £23,400

*VAT is charged at the current rate of 20%.

Exclusions

Factors Affecting Complexity

The cost of your case is affected by the complexity of it. When we assess whether your case is simple or of medium or high complexity, the factors below are taken into account:

The extent of the history of your case and whether there has been a continuing course of conduct.
The nature of any allegation against you (for example, a one off gross misconduct incident or something more complex such as fraud or a history of poor performance).
If it is necessary to make an application to amend your claim or to provide further information about an existing claim.
Making or defending a costs application, strikeout or deposit order.
Complex preliminary issues such as whether you have a disability (if this is not agreed by the parties).
The number of witnesses and documents.
If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. if you are dismissed after blowing the whistle on your employer.
If there are allegations of discrimination linked to the dismissal.
Applications for specific documents.

In the event that the issues become more complex than anticipated, we will make sure you are informed of this at the earliest opportunity and a clear estimate of those extra costs will be provided.

Time Scales

Key Milestones

There are key milestones, which may vary according to your individual circumstances. They may be as follows:

Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and is subject to change).
Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached.
Preparing your claim.
Reviewing and advising on the response from the other party.
Exploring and negotiating settlement throughout the process.
Preparing or considering a schedule of loss.
Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing.
Exchanging documents with the other party and agreeing a bundle of documents.
Taking witness statements, drafting statements and agreeing their content with witnesses.
Preparing bundle of documents.
Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements.
Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or cast list.
Preparation and attendance at a final Hearing, including instructions to Counsel.
The milestones above are an indication of typical stages of a claim. If some of these milestones are not required, the fee may be reduced.

If you have any immediate questions on this topic please do not hesitate to contact us using the enquiry form or call us on 01245 493939.